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Recommended reading for the saints
Bible Study Tools
Concordances
The most basic Bible study tool. This allows finding all occurrances of a biblical word, which is essential for understanding how it is actually used in Scripture.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
James Strong
(Nelson, 1997, hardcover)
$18.00
The best tool for finding a verse when you only remember a few keywords in it. Each English word form has a separate entry (e.g. "sit" and "sat" are two separate entries). Each occurrance has a code which identifies the original Greek or Hebrew word. Based on the King James Version.
Young's Analytical Concordance
Robert Young
(Hendrickson, 1993, hardcover)
$24.00
Much better than Strong's for word studies. Different forms of the same English word are grouped together under a single dictionary form (e.g. "sit" and "sat" are both found under "sit"). Under each entry, occurrances are sub-grouped according to the original Greek or Hebrew word. Based on the King James Version.
NAS Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
(Found Publications, 1998)
$30.00
Like Strong's concordance, but based on the New American Standard Version.
Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance
Goodrick & Kohlenberger
(Zondervan, 1999, hardcover, 1850pp.)
$40.00
[Or get it at CBD for much less!]
Like Strong's concordance, but based on the New International Version.
Bible Dictionaries and Handbooks
These tools provide cultural, historical, and linguistic background. This information is often necessary to correctly understand the Scriptures, but for those of us who do not live in Bible times is not easily available by studying the Scriptures alone.
New Unger's Bible Dictionary
Merrill Unger
(Moody, 1988, hardcover, 1400pp.)
$32.00
Provides definitions of biblical and theological words. Gives not only the basic meanings, but also provides cultural, archaeological, and theological background.
Unger's Concise Bible Dictionary
Merrill Unger
(Baker, 1985, paper)
$13.50
New Unger's Bible Handbook
Merrill Unger
(Moody, 1986, hardcover, 720pp.)
$28.00
Provides photos and archaeological, historical, and cultural background information for each book of the Bible.
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words
Vine, Unger, and White
(AMG, 1995, hardcover, 755pp.)
$20.00
A basic and useful reference work. Look up biblical words in English, and find the underlying Greek and Hebrew words with their meanings and a summary of their meanings in context, based on biblical usage. Excellent for NT, brief for OT words.
Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words
W.E. Vine
(Nelson/Word, 1997, hardcover)
$14.40
A basic and useful reference work. Look up biblical words in English, and find the underlying Greek and Hebrew words with their meanings and a summary of their meanings in context, based on biblical usage. Excellent for NT, brief for OT words.
Bible Atlases
These maps are often helpful in understanding biblical events.
Macmillan Bible Atlas
Aharoni & Avi-Yonah
(IDG Books, 1993, hardcover, 224pp.)
$28.00
Recommended because of its excellent maps which include travel routes. But don't believe its dates from the Exodus thru the time of the Judges. The authors follow liberal scholars who disagree with Scripture in this time period.
Moody Atlas of Bible Lands
Beitzel, et al
(Moody, 1985, hardcover, 234pp.)
$34.00
Conservative, trustworthy scholarship. Maps, photos, geographical and historical information.
Nelson's Complete Book of Bible Maps & Charts, Revised & Updated
(Nelson, 1996, paperback)
$18.00
Arranged book-by-book. Essentially a combination of a Bible atlas and Bible handbook.
Commentaries
After doing one's own personal study, it is often helpful to consult a good commentary to see what others have understood from the passage.
Believers' Bible Commentary
William MacDonald
(Nelson, 1996, hardcover, 2389pp?)
$24.00
Good, trustworthy, easy-to-understand.
Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament
Roy Zuck, et al
(Victor, 1987, hardcover)
$34.00
A scholarly but readable commentary by the faculty of Dallas Seminary.
Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament
Roy Zuck, et al
(Victor, 1987, hardcover)
$32.00
A scholarly but readable commentary by the faculty of Dallas Seminary.
Advanced Study
These tools do not require knowing the Greek and Hebrew languages, but knowledge of their alphabets is necessary for most of them. You may want to get Goodrick if you don't know the alphabets.
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich
(4th ed; Univ. of Chicago Press, 1999, 1000pp.)
$65.00
Very comprehensive and detailed. The most thorough Greek lexicon available. Includes usage information from some non-biblical Greek writings, as well as the NT.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
Brown, Driver, Briggs
(Hendrickson, 1996, hardcover)
$28.00
The standard Hebrew lexicon. An excellent work.
How to Use New Testament Greek Study Aids
Walter Jerry Clark
(Loizeaux, 1989, paper)
$9.00
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Harris, Archer, Waltke
(Moody, 1980, hardcover)
$64.00
Similar to Vine's, but for the Old Testament. Summarizes word meaning and usage. 2 Volumes.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Joseph Thayer
(Hendrickson, 1997, hardcover)
$20.00
A good, basic lexicon of the Greek NT.
Vincent's Word Studies on the New Testament
M.R. Vincent
(Hendrickson, 1984, hardcover)
$60.00
A popular and well-done work. Gain much insight into the detailed nuances of Greek words, without learning Greek.
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament
George Wigram
(Hendrickson, 1996, hardcover)
$32.00
The best tool for study of Old Testament words in their context. Each Hebrew word is listed, with an English (KJV) translation of the surrounding words.
Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament
George Wigram
(Hendrickson, 1996, hardcover)
$28.00
The best tool for study of New Testament words in their context. Each Greek word is listed, with an English (KJV) translation of the surrounding words.
Biblical Language Library, 4 Volumes
(Hendrickson, 4 volumes, hardcover)
$70.00
A matching set of four biblical language references listed separately above. Very useful. Includes:
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance
Englishman's Greek Concordance
Get it at CBD
Word Studies in the Greek New Testament
Kenneth Wuest
(Eerdmans, 1980, 4 volumes, hardcover)
$100.00
[Or get it at CBD for much less!]
A popular and well-done work. Gain much insight into the detailed nuances of Greek words, without learning Greek.
Original Language Study
These tools are for learning and using the original languages of the Bible.
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (small edition)
(American Bible Society, hardcover)
$70.00
The standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (large edition)
(American Bible Society, hardcover)
$80.00
The standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
Greek New Testament
(4th edition, United Bible Society, vinyl)
$40.00
The most recent critical edition of the Greek text.
A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament
Dana & Mantey
(Macmillan, 1996, hardcover)
$53.00
The standard text for an intermediate course in Greek grammar. Very useful.
Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Cards
Raymond Dillard
(Visual Education Assn)
$11.00
Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament
Friberg & Miller
(Baker, hardcover)
$45.00
[Or get it at CBD for much less!]
Do it Yourself Hebrew and Greek
Edward Goodrick
(Zondervan, 1980, paper, 300pp.)
$23.00 [Or get it at CBD for less!]
An introduction to biblical languages. The standard text for those who want to learn enough about biblical languages to use study helps, but do not intend to spend the time needed to become fluent in the languages.
Do it Yourself Hebrew and Greek
Multnomah Edition -- $15.00 (same as above?!)
Do it Yourself Hebrew and Greek
Audio Cassette -- $12.00
Biblical Greek Vocabulary Cards
Robert Gromacki
(Visual Education Assn)
$11.00
Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar
Page Kelley
(Eerdmans, 1992, paper, 453pp.)
$24.00
The standard text in evangelical seminaries for learning Hebrew.
Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament
Mounce
(Zondervan, 1993, hardcover, 556pp.)
$35.00
New Analytical Greek Lexicon
Pershbacher
(Hendrickson, 1990, hardcover)
$24.00
[Or get it at CBD for less!]
Refresh your Greek
Pershbacher
ISBN-0802433529
Includes the Greek text, with numerous linguistic notes (word meanings, parsings, grammatical analysis).
OUT OF PRINT
New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament
Rienecker & Rogers
(Zondervan, 1998, hardcover, 752pp.)
$32.00
Notes to help with word meanings and grammatical analysis of the text. Very useful. The original had a liberal bias from its German authors, but this edition has been revised and expanded by evangelical scholars.
Essentials of New Testament Greek
Ray Summers
(Revised edition, Broadman & Holman, 1995, hardcover, 200pp.)
$20.00
A good text for a first course in Greek. Uses the 8-case system.
Last modified December 16, 2000 by Kirk Bertsche, KBertsche@aol.com
